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matthewryanre

matthewryanre

Alexandria,VA

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AshleyBradford kcurtain Geodialist
KatD Geodialist BobSpader AshleyBradford
matthewryanre Halloween pennant dragonfly
Halloween pennant dragonfly commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

Are those your 3/4" plywood boards with the white numbers on them around the park? I have seen number 7 and number 4 in the last couple of days. I didn't disturb them. I assumed they were part of a herp study.

matthewryanre Halloween pennant dragonfly
Halloween pennant dragonfly commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

Great find. Everyone at Huntley Meadows is abuzz about this dragonfly. Thank you for adding it to Arthropods of Fairfax,Va

matthewryanre Six-spotted Fishing Spider
Six-spotted Fishing Spider commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

I believe that this is a Dolomedes triton. The color varies on this spider but the six spots on the abdomen are distinctive. Check bugguide.net for comparables.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/114139/bgi...

matthewryanre Swamp Darner dragonfly wing
Swamp Darner dragonfly wing commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

I began by looking back at Needham's "A Genealogic Study of Dragonfly Wing Venation" (1903) in order to figure out what I should be looking at as far as veins to determine the species. Then I turned to "Dragonflies of North America" by Needham and Westfall (1953) to find the Species. After looking at a few hundred wings, I determined that the Swamp Darner, Epiaeschna heros on page 286-287 was an exact match. Looking at the photos on bugguide.net confirmed the diagnosis.

matthewryanre Violet Dancer damselfly (female)
Violet Dancer damselfly (female) commented on by matthewryanre Hybla Valley, Virginia, USA11 years ago

Absolutely, Argia fumipennis violacea. The humeral stripe with the fork and the triangular black markings on the side of the abdomen and the entirely black segment seven are indicators of the species.

matthewryanre Eastern Smooth Earth Snake
Eastern Smooth Earth Snake commented on by matthewryanre Maryland, USA11 years ago

This is too awesome. It looks like a Smooth earth snake - Virginia valeriae. They hang out in decaying logs. Every one that I have seen has actually been in or under a log when I found it.
Check out http://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/virval.ht...

matthewryanre Painted skimmer
Painted skimmer commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

I believe that this is a female. It was located just off the main entrance road at Huntley meadows to the right as you come into the park right before reaching the parking lot.

matthewryanre Frosted Whiteface
Frosted Whiteface commented on by matthewryanre Lat: 45.41 Lon: -75.5211 years ago

Very cool. This is a great spot.

matthewryanre Garden orbweaver
Garden orbweaver commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

Thank you Ashley for the ID.

matthewryanre Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (immature male)
Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (immature male) commented on by matthewryanre Virginia, USA11 years ago

Looks like a teneral female. One wing looks to be malformed during emergence. A dragonfly can fly with only 3 wings intact. Good luck little dragonfly.

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